ClueBy
TodayArchiveWord list

Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
YesNo
↻ New worksheet

Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. saw — the tool
  3. bulb — for light
  4. content — happy
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. content — the amount
  8. capital — a city
  9. bulb — for light
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. game — a match
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. track — a song
  15. track — to keep track
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. rash — a series
  20. track — a path
  21. game — wild animals
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. capital — money
  24. bowl — a football final

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com